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Race and Economic Well-Being in the United States

Author

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  • Jean-Felix Brouillette
  • Charles I. Jones
  • Peter J. Klenow

Abstract

We construct a measure of consumption-equivalent welfare for Black and White Americans. Our statistic incorporates life expectancy, consumption, leisure, and inequality, with mortality rates playing a key role quantitatively. According to our estimates, welfare for Black Americans was 43% of that for White Americans in 1984 and rose to 60% by 2019. Going back further in time (albeit with more limited data), the gap was even larger, with Black welfare equal to just 28% of White welfare in 1940. On the one hand, there has been remarkable progress for Black Americans: the level of their consumption-equivalent welfare increased by a factor of 28 between 1940 and 2019, when aggregate consumption per person rose a more modest 5-fold. On the other hand, despite this remarkable progress, the welfare gap in 2019 remains disconcertingly large. Mortality from COVID-19 has temporarily reversed a decade of progress, lowering Black welfare by 17% while reducing White welfare by 10%.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Felix Brouillette & Charles I. Jones & Peter J. Klenow, 2021. "Race and Economic Well-Being in the United States," NBER Working Papers 29539, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29539
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    Cited by:

    1. Job Boerma & Loukas Karabarbounis, 2023. "Reparations and Persistent Racial Wealth Gaps," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 171-221.
    2. Daniel Albuquerque & Tomer Ifergane, 2023. "The Racial Wealth Gap: the Role of Entrepreneurship," Discussion Papers 2310, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    3. Curtis, Chadwick & Garín, Julio & Lester, Robert, 2022. "Working, consuming, and dying: Quantifying the diversity in the american experience," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Victoria Gregory & Julian Kozlowski & Hannah Rubinton, 2022. "The Impact of Racial Segregation on College Attainment in Spatial Equilibrium," Working Papers 2022-036, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised 24 Jul 2023.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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